Air Quality Survey Carried Out by Schoolchildren: An Innovative Tool for Urban Planning

2006 ◽  
Vol 131 (1-3) ◽  
pp. 201-210 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristina Nali ◽  
Giacomo Lorenzini
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Urban Planning ◽  
Innovative Tool

scholarly journals Monitoring the Spatial Variation of Aerosol Optical Depth and Its Correlation with Land Use/Land Cover in Wuhan, China: A Perspective of Urban Planning

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 1132
Author(s):  
Qijiao Xie ◽  
Qi Sun
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Urban Planning ◽  
Land Cover ◽  
Aerosol Optical Depth ◽  
Optical Depth ◽  
Water Bodies ◽  
Landsat 8 ◽  
Land Use Land Cover ◽  
The Impact

Aerosols significantly affect environmental conditions, air quality, and public health locally, regionally, and globally. Examining the impact of land use/land cover (LULC) on aerosol optical depth (AOD) helps to understand how human activities influence air quality and develop suitable solutions. The Landsat 8 image and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aerosol products in summer in 2018 were used in LULC classification and AOD retrieval in this study. Spatial statistics and correlation analysis about the relationship between LULC and AOD were performed to examine the impact of LULC on AOD in summer in Wuhan, China. Results indicate that the AOD distribution expressed an obvious “basin effect” in urban development areas: higher AOD values concentrated in water bodies with lower terrain, which were surrounded by the high buildings or mountains with lower AOD values. The AOD values were negatively correlated with the vegetated areas while positively correlated to water bodies and construction lands. The impact of LULC on AOD varied with different contexts in all cases, showing a “context effect”. The regression correlations among the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), normalized difference built-up index (NDBI), normalized difference water index (NDWI), and AOD in given landscape contexts were much stronger than those throughout the whole study area. These findings provide sound evidence for urban planning, land use management and air quality improvement.

Planning for Improved Air Quality and Environmental Health

2012 ◽  
pp. 435-454 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Schweitzer ◽  
Linsey Marr
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Urban Planning ◽  
Environmental Justice ◽  
Environmental Health ◽  
Wishful Thinking ◽  
Emissions Reductions ◽  
Quality Issues

This article focuses on the issue of improving air quality and environmental health in urban planning. It suggests that the planning assumptions about emissions reductions, air quality, and climate change may reflect more wishful thinking and project marketing than effective air quality and climate planning, and argues that the goal of planning analysis in air quality seldom, if ever, considers neighborhoods or people. The article also compares and contrasts current planning and regulatory approaches with how community and environmental justice advocates frame air-quality issues.

scholarly journals Minecraft as a Tool for Engaging Children in Urban Planning: A Case Study in Tirol Town, Brazil

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 170
Author(s):  
Bruno de Andrade ◽  
Alenka Poplin ◽  
Ítalo Sousa de Sena
Keyword(s):  
Urban Planning ◽  
Young People ◽  
Youth Engagement ◽  
Social Actors ◽  
Societal Actors ◽  
Innovative Tool ◽  
Game Environment ◽  
New Research ◽  
Development And Management ◽  
Culture Of Planning

The purpose of this paper is to explore the potential of Minecraft’s game environment for urban planning with older and younger children in a public school in Tirol town, Brazil. Minecraft is employed as an innovative tool to tackle the present lack of engagement and involvement of key societal actors such as children and young people in urban planning. Thus, how can games support children to co-design their future city? Which heritage values do they represent graphically in the game environment? Geogames are games that provide a visualization of a real spatial context and in this study, Minecraft is the tool which we use to explore youth engagement. We designed two experiments, which tested Minecraft as a geogame environment for engaging young people in urban planning. These experiments were conducted with children, who emerged as active emancipated actors to bring their values to the planning practice. The playtesting results revealed the potential of Minecraft to keep children engaged in the design workshop, as well as their relevant ludic ability to co-create walkable, green, and interactive places. New research questions arose about the potential of creating a culture of planning among children in order to motivate other social actors to share responsibilities for sustainable development and management.

scholarly journals Urban Trees and Their Impact on Local Ozone Concentration—A Microclimate Modeling Study

Atmosphere ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 154 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helge Simon ◽  
Joachim Fallmann ◽  
Tim Kropp ◽  
Holger Tost ◽  
Michael Bruse
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Urban Planning ◽  
Ozone Concentration ◽  
Green Infrastructure ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Urban Trees ◽  
Box Model ◽  
Dominant Factor ◽  
Isoprene Emission ◽  
The Impact

Climate sensitive urban planning involves the implementation of green infrastructure as one measure to mitigate excessive heat in urban areas. Depending on thermal conditions, certain trees tend to emit more biogenic volatile organic compounds, which act as precursors for ozone formation, thus hampering air quality. Combining a theoretical approach from a box model analysis and microscale modeling from the microclimate model ENVI-met, we analyze this relationship for a selected region in Germany and provide the link to air quality prediction and climate sensitive urban planning. A box model study was conducted, indicating higher ozone levels with higher isoprene concentration, especially in NO-saturated atmospheres. ENVI-met sensitivity studies showed that different urban layouts strongly determine local isoprene emissions of vegetation, with leaf temperature, rather than photosynthetic active radiation, being the dominant factor. The impact of isoprene emission on the ozone in complex urban environments was simulated for an urban area for a hot summer day with and without isoprene. A large isoprene-induced relative ozone increase was found over the whole model area. On selected hot spots we find a clear relationship between urban layout, proximity to NOx emitters, tree-species-dependent isoprene emission capacity, and increases in ozone concentration, rising up to 500% locally.

scholarly journals Exploring the Institutional and Bottom-Up Actions for Urban Air Quality Improvement: Case Studies in Antwerp and Gdańsk

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (21) ◽  
pp. 11790
Author(s):  
Joanna Badach ◽  
Małgorzata Dymnicka ◽  
Jarosław Załęcki ◽  
Maciej Brosz ◽  
Dimitri Voordeckers ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Urban Planning ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Case Study Research ◽  
Comparative Case Study ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Major Factors ◽  
Urban Development Policy

The article presents the results of qualitative studies concerning the presence of air quality management in the process of urban planning and in the public discourse in Antwerp, Belgium, and Gdańsk, Poland. We focused on the way urban planners, environmental experts, and stakeholders perceive the problem of air pollution, especially with respect to urban development policy, and whether they consider it one of the major factors determining the quality of the urban built environment. The analysis was empirically based on free, partially structured interviews with experts. With that aim, we referred to certain assumptions of the multidimensional concept of environmental protection and integrated urban planning, highlighting the knowledge gained through interview analysis, literature review, and comparative case study research. The approach brings to light the difference between the perceived and measured air quality and to what extent it is affected by the spatial conditions. The research reveals how the range of perceptions of air pollution is embedded in several sociological, urban planning, and cultural perspectives and how these perceptions differ between the different profiles of the stakeholders and experts.

scholarly journals Urban Vegetation in Air Quality Management: A Review and Policy Framework

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 1258 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanna Badach ◽  
Małgorzata Dymnicka ◽  
Andrzej Baranowski
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Quality Management ◽  
Urban Planning ◽  
Design Guidelines ◽  
Urban Air Quality ◽  
Policy Framework ◽  
Urban Air ◽  
Air Quality Management ◽  
Urban Greenery

Recent episodes of high air pollution concentration levels in many Polish cities indicate the urgent need for policy change and for the integration of various aspects of urban development into a common platform for local air quality management. In this article, the focus was placed on the prospects of improving urban air quality through proper design and protection of vegetation systems within local spatial planning strategies. Recent studies regarding the mitigation of air pollution by urban greenery due to deposition and aerodynamic effects were reviewed, with special attention given to the design guidelines resulting from these studies and their applicability in the process of urban planning. The conclusions drawn from the review were used to conduct three case studies: in Gdańsk, Warsaw, and Poznań, Poland. The existing local urban planning regulations for the management of urban greenery were critically evaluated in relation to the findings of the review. The results indicate that the current knowledge regarding the improvement of urban air quality by vegetation is not applied in the process of urban planning to a sufficient degree. Some recommendations for alternative provisions were discussed.

Urban form, traffic volume, and air quality: A spatiotemporal stratified approach

2021 ◽  
pp. 239980832199582
Author(s):  
Ye Tian ◽  
Xiaobai Yao
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Random Forest ◽  
Urban Planning ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Urban Form ◽  
Strong Association ◽  
Traffic Volume ◽  
Sustainable Urban Development ◽  
Volume Data ◽  
Traffic Demand

Understanding the interplay between urban form, traffic volume, and air quality is significant for urban planning and environmental sustainability. However, limited progress has been made in bringing effective urban planning strategies to help control traffic demand and resulting air pollutants. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the interrelation between urban form, traffic volume, and air quality with a spatiotemporal stratified method. The method extracts and preprocesses traffic volume data in spatial (polluted and unpolluted zones) and temporal (periods in holidays and workdays) dimensions. Three decision tree models (random forest, random tree, M5 model tree) and two comparison models (multiple linear regression, artificial neural network) are used to examine the relationships. The final results show that the spatiotemporal stratification approach effectively reveals the interrelations, and the random forest model outperforms the other models. Specifically, highly aggregated roads and industrial areas are more associated with traffic volume in polluted zones. The dominance of waterway and vegetation shows a strong association with traffic volume in unpolluted zones. The degree of association also varies significantly between workdays and holidays. Our spatiotemporal stratified approach reveals heterogeneous relationships between urban form, traffic volume, and air quality and provides insightful references on sustainable urban development.

scholarly journals ANALYSIS OF URBAN PLANNING DOCUMENTS WITH THE USE OF DTM IN TERMS OF THEIR OPTIMIZATION TO IMPROVE AIR QUALITY

2019 ◽  
Vol XLII-3/W8 ◽  
pp. 227-231
Author(s):  
L. Kulesza
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Urban Planning ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Biologically Active ◽  
World Health ◽  
Industrial Plants ◽  
Preventive Actions ◽  
Polish Law ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Terrain Elevation

<p><strong>Abstract.</strong> In recent years, the problem of air pollution in cities has significantly increased. According to the latest ranking published by the World Health Organization (WHO), there are 36 Polish urban centres among 50 European cities with the highest concentration of PM<sub>2.5</sub> particulate matter. In order to improve the situation, corrective and preventive actions can be taken. The first of these mainly include the shift towards more ecological fuels and increasing the biologically active area. The second group includes, among others optimizing existing planning documents. From the point of view of the location of buildings, in particular industrial plants, the most favourable are the highest areas, where the dust generated as a result of fuel combustion can be dispersed much faster. Unfortunately, the applicable provisions of Polish law do not impose an obligation to include terrain elevation in spatial planning. The growing problem of smog has stimulated the analysis of planning documents for selected Polish cities from the list published by the WHO taking DTM into consideration. First of all, on the basis of DTM, three zones (unfavourable, advantageous and very favourable) were determined for each of the test areas from the point of view of the location of buildings. Then an index was established, which was called the Elevation Planning Potential that allows to determine whether and to what extent there are possibilities to make beneficial changes from the point of view of air quality in planning documents taking into account the terrain shape. It takes into consideration both information from DTM and data determined on the basis of urban planning documents covering the existing development and land-use as well as planned spatial development directions. The solutions developed can significantly improve the air quality in cities by optimizing the location of new buildings. In this paper the results are presented for the Żywiec commune.</p>

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